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POLITICO 44

Vice President Joe Biden is semiotically significant: The moment you see him you respond in the same way without regard to context. Other public figures have reached this stage of symbolic certainty before, like Jerry Falwell, Rita Lavelle and Spiro Agnew. Nancy Pelosi is rapidly approaching this level of instant, locked-in response from the vast majority of observers. Barbara Boxer is already there.

This is the land of the permanently discounted, the immediately dismissed. Of course, there will always be true believers in their leaders' wisdom, effectiveness and viability as a political force. But for the 99 percent of the public not linked by family or economics to the figure, the die is cast. Like David Blaine suspended over the Thames, this class of political figure built their own glass house and getting out is very, very difficult. Like Patrick McGoohan in "The Prisoner," these sorts of folks can try as hard and as often as they like to escape their reputations, but the big white ball will get them and bring them back.

There's a good argument that Joe Biden was already in this class when President Obama selected him as his running mate. Certainly his gaffe track was long and widely admired by media types who marveled at his ability to survive it all. Joe had become like the Rodney Dangerfield character in Caddy Shack — loveable and largely harmless, even occasionally useful for breaking up the self-important stuffiness of the Senate.

Now Joe's gone to the bigs though, and in ways far more significant that ripping on the chief justice to the president's dismay, his certain buffoonery creates risks not just to the president's political future but to the U.S. His recent Wall Street Journal interview set Russian leaders back on their heels. What in the world did this mean, a sudden confrontation with the U.S. with whom relations were allegedly thawing?

"I think we vastly underestimate the hand that we hold," Slow Joe told the Journal. "Russia has to make some very difficult, calculated decisions. They have a shrinking population base, they have a withering economy, they have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years, they're in a situation where the world is changing before them, and they're clinging to something in the past that is not sustainable."

That's a big oops with geopolitical ramifications that senior Obama officials rushed to head off. Former ambassador to the former U.S.S.R. (yes, there was such a job) Stephen Sestanovich rushed out a Washington Post op-ed that began:

Joe Biden has caught hell the past couple of weeks for making some fairly obvious observations to a reporter about Russia's internal problems and for implying that the interests of such a weakened country needn't worry the United States all that much. Moscow officialdom has responded in high dudgeon, and Russian commentators are insisting that the vice president has revealed the dark and irresponsible motives behind American policy. Administration spokesmen dismiss it as just another Biden gaffe.

What follows is absolution dressed up as analysis and from the Council on Foreign Relations no less. Damage control complete. Time to move along.

Except that another brick in Joe's already very-high wall has been added. Though no one has said so, already Team Obama has to be thinking about the change that is coming in 2012 — to the bottom of the ticket.

2010 will be a blood bath for the Democrats. They have completely blown it with the spending package and now trying to ram through socialized medicine. The American people aren't as stupid as they had hoped.

I suppose a right-wing Republican, viewing the workings of the Democrat Party, would see it splitting apart. Not so. We, contrary to the opposition, are liberal, moderate, and conservative. Differing views. But when the horse trading is all done, we come together. We're Democrats after all.

Short of his death or incapacitation, Joe Biden will be the VP candidate on the 2012 Democratic Presidential ticket. There are a thousand reasons why he will be, but most importantly, because to replace him would be to admit a mistake in 2008, and that isn't happening.

For Hewitt to argue otherwise only proves what an idiot he is and how little he understands about politics.

This...is the worst written article I've read in ages! I've been a Politico reader for nearly a year now, but this article was the thing that spurred me to make an account. First off, the complete factual errors (paraphrased, but you get the idea):

"The obvious trade of Slow Joe for Hillary" What? While she would definitely be on the short list (assuming he does get replaced, which is pretty brash to begin with), she would by no means be the obvious choice. Aside from the very qualified people you dismissed, there are also choices like Brian Schweitzer, the governor of Montana, Claire McCaskill, the soon-to-be senior senator from Missouri, and Bob Casey, the popular senator from Pennsylvania.

"Tim Kaine...[has] joined the administration" Uh...no he hasn't. He's the chair of the DNC, which is strongly linked with Obama (it's his party after all), but has literally no official connection to the administration. He's the head of a purely political organization, and is no more a member of the Obama administration than the head of a PAC.

"Of course, the next Democratic Convention is going to Chicago" Yeah. I got nothing. That would be the worst political move since George Allen compared a Webb staff member to a monkey. Obama has run as the candidate for change, hope, and reform, why would he want to be even more linked to a city that, in the eyes of the US, is full of corruption, scandal, and all around dirty pols. Notice that he kicked off his presidential campaign in Springfield, not Chicago. Ditto with Joe Biden's first appearance as VP. Chances are that the convention will be held somewhere that's in a swing state, or an emerging swing state, such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Richmond, Indianapolis, or possibly even Pheonix or San Antonio. So yeah. I have no idea where Hugh pulled this little gemstone out of.

"Members of the administration won't be able to bring to the 2012 ticket any promise of new initiative or new perspective" That's probably true-ish, although I don't imagine an ad attacking Kathleen Sebelius as "more of the same old Washington insider class". The real issue with this is the fact that just before this paragraph, he says that it's "obvious" that Biden will be replaced by Hillary Clinton. So wait...he first says that Obama will choose Hillary, someone who, love her or hate her, is notorious for being a Washington insider, but right after that he eliminates name like Sebelius, Kaine, and Janet Napolitano because they're member of his administration (and Kaine isn't even that)! No offense, but that's just not very logical.

paraphrase: "Governors and senators looking to 2012 have a tough choice on Obamacare if they want a shot at VP" Once again, nothing explicitly wrong with this one (on the contrary, it's 100% true). But in the context of the article, in which Hugh argues that Hillary will replace Biden (and since Biden was never a very public face of the admin, I can only assume that he means VP), it would suggest that these people are wasting their time. Plus, Michael Bennet? VP? He's a decent senator, but nobody knows who he is, not even in Colorado. He's off the list, and Kay Hagan might have some issues too, as she'll get attacked for her big tobacco connections (remember that tobacco bill? She voted nay). Evan Bayh might have a shot, after all, he was on the short lit in '08, so it seems that the Obama campaign likes what they see.

"Nancy Pelosi is rapidly approaching this level of instant, locked-in response from the vast majority of observers. Barbara Boxer is already there" Hold the phone there...does this mean that Barbara Boxer is more well-known to Americas than Nancy Pelosi? Maybe five years ago, but last time I checked, it's Pelosi who's a big figure in congress, while Boxer has been replace in the public eye by folks like Reid, McConnell, Boehner, and Waxman. Plus, the sentence "The moment you see him you respond in the same way without regard to context" doesn't really make much sense. Do all Americans react the same way each time they see Biden, nomatter what he's doing? I don't think so. Besides, the admin has kept a muzzle on him these days.

So in closing, this article motivated me to register a Politico account after being a reader for quite a while. It is, and I do not say this lightly, the worst article I have ever read on Politico. Most of the stuff here is great, I especially love The Scorecard, but this is just plain terrible. Thanks, TTB

Hewitt may be on the right track about the possibility of a different Democratic vice-presidential candidate in 2012, but otherwise he's way off the mark. Using the neocons' pet term "Obamacare" clearly reveals Hewitt's bias and propaganda themes. Government health CARE has NEVER been the issue. Instead, Democrats are working for NON-PROFIT (government-run) health INSURANCE as an OPTION to the FOR-PROFIT private insurance. Private health insurance companies improve their bottom line by denying medical treatment, AND the CEOs can't be removed at the voting booth. In fact they're rewarded with millions of dollars in bonuses when their company profits go up (and they've been going WAY up).

Not only the organized mobs who disrupt the town hall meetings, but Republican "leaders" and the rightwing media are showing they have no interest in participating in a bipartisan solution to health insurance coverage. They are antagonistic to the point of encouraging violence. Reasonable discussion of the issues is impossible.

The neocons are using every possible antiAmerican tactic to safeguard the profits of the insurance industry. It's time for the Democrats and moderates to move ahead without them. Hopefully there are a few rational Republicans like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins who will break with (or leave) their party for the good of average Americans.

Mr. Hewitt -- Please keep a copy of this post ..... next to the salt shaker. You're going to need something to make it a little more palatable when you have to eat your words. While many of the pundit class may have relegated VP Biden to the "immediately dismissed" category, that's not the case for some other key groups and individuals: like a solid majority of the American people (check it out) *and* President Obama. Try opening your eyes, and mind, and perhaps figure out what is really going on rather than buying into the tiredest and most unthinking of 'conventional wisdom' themes. Many of us are very proud of, and impressed by, our Vice President and admire, particularly, the way he has gone about - with civility - working hard and having a significant impact for the betterment of this country, for many years, despite the constant belittling of those too lazy to think (or listen) for themselves.

...."I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration." Hillary Clinton - March 2003" I AM THE MOB!!!

The Dems are in full panic mode, and the wheels are falling off the bus. 2010/2012 is going to be a disaster for the Democrats.

The big business of health care know GREED for money from either party takes no. 1 place in there poor sick term in office They all take an oath and lie right after it. They do not care for there own state people who put then in office, money in there own back pockets is all they care. This is why we really need term limits one term and your gone, no retirement no life time of free health care, no need to collect money from lobbyiest since there in for one term. think about clean out the trask.

Biden is certainly one of the dumbest politicians to come around in decades. During the VP debates he got his historical facts completely and utterly wrong. If Palin had known her stuff she could have creamed him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I further could not believe such a person is in line to be President. Biden is an extraordinary moron.

Hugh Hewitt is dumber then a box of NeoCons oops, I meant to say, dumber then a box of rocks. The GOP can't catch it's butt with both hands, but feels compelled to tell us how President Obama is gonna do this or that.

Hillary would be smart to run against Obama in 2012. She would be a sure win in the primaries. I can't believe I'm saying this but if a democrat had to win this past election, I think we would have been a lot better off with her in charge.